The actual fingerprint card used to identify Burgett’s body.

 A khaki cotton belt commonly worn by prisoners at Alcatraz was around the abdomen, but not passed through the belt loops of the trousers, with the number “991” in large numbers on a white cloth which was sewn on the belt. The body was clothed in a heavy “T” under shirt, white cotton shorts, two pairs prison trousers, a heavy khaki undershirt with the legs through the sleeves and the bottom pinned around the waist, three pairs of socks, and brown low-cut work shoes. A broken piece of ply-wood was secured to the bottom of the left shoe by means of electricians tape and a copper wire. A cotton bag similar to those carried by inmates to carry dominoes to the exercise yard was fastened to the belt which was buckled in the rear of the body. The bag contained two smooth stones, the larger of which was about two inches in diameter, a roll of black electricians tape about 2 ¹/ ₂inches in diameter, about ½ cup sand, approximately 10 feet of cord and show laces, and a piece of wire about 10 inches long. The large stenciled numbers, “991” appeared on the belt, undershirt, underwear, and one pair of trousers. The stenciled number, “814” was on the outer pair of trousers. A stainless steel knife was removed by one of the morgue officers and retained by me. This knife was enclosed in plastic, initialed, and submitted to the Warden. The teeth appeared to be in good condition. The body was then covered with a blanket and removed to by uniformed City Morgue Officers to the City Morgue, 650 Merchant Street, San Francisco, California.

Mr. Latimer and I then went to the City Morgue where I watched the clothing being removed from the body. The body measured 6 feet and 2 inches in length and weighed 22 pounds. The inside surface of the right calf of the leg had the tattoo, “499-30-0783”, in large blue-black numbers. (This is the number on Burgett’s Social Security card now in his personal belongings.) There was also a “pachuco” tattoo in the form of an “X”, arc with rays, and a cross, below the series of numbers and upside down when viewed from the feet. 

The officers at the Morgue assured me that their technicians would obtain pictures of the corpse and fingerprints for the institution. A copy of the dental chart furnished by Agent Keith,... B.I., was placed with the body and the remains were wheeled into the refrigeration room.

It is my opinion, based upon my acquaintance with inmate Burgett, clothing commonly worn by inmates at Alcatraz, the stiff right middle finger, tattoo marks, identical ridges on the fingers with the fingerprint cards on file, weight and measurements of the corpse, and other features, that the body was that of Aaron Walter Burgett, Reg. No. 991-AZ, beyond any reasonable doubt.

Burgett’s body was released to the Godeau Funeral Home on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco.

Clyde Johnson was paroled from prison in 1971. While on parole, he was again convicted of armed bank robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, assaulting a Federal officer and attempted escape. He was sentenced to serve thirty-six years for his crimes. In August of 1994, Johnson was diagnosed with lymphoma of the stomach and colon. He died at the Men’s Federal Correctional Institution in Lexington, Kentucky on October 29, 1995.

ESCAPE ATTEMPT #13

Date:

June 11, 1962

Inmates:

Frank Lee Morris

John and Clarence Anglin

Allen Clayton West

Location:

Main Cellhouse (B Block)

Main Cellhouse (B Block)

The Great Escape from Alcatraz

The classic motion picture Escape from Alcatraz featured Academy Award-winning actor Clint Eastwood in an amazingly accurate portrayal of Frank Morris.

If there was ever an inmate who was destined to escape from Alcatraz, it was Frank Lee Morris. In the 1973 movie Escape from Alcatraz, Clint Eastwood accurately portrayed Morris as the brilliant mastermind of one of the most famous prison escapes in history. The escape plan took several months to design, and required the fabrication of clever decoys and water survival gear. Today it is considered one of the most ingenious escape plans ever attempted.

Frank Lee Morris

Frank Lee Morris – a chronology of mug shot photographs, representing a hardening lifetime spent in prison. On his Alcatraz admission card, officials listed one of his formal occupations as “escape artist,” and noted his superior intelligence. He would escape from nearly every prison to which he was ever committed.

Frank Lee Morris had spent a lifetime navigating the prison system before his arrival on Alcatraz. From his infant years until his teens, Morris was shuffled from one foster home to another. Frank’s years as a toddler are poorly documented, but it is known that he was convicted of his first crime at the youthful age of thirteen. Whether by fate or misfortune, Frank’s rudderless course had been dictated by his mother long before birth. Some sources indicate that his Morris’s mother was the daughter of an upper-middle-class family and that she began her misadventures as a runaway at a very young age.

It is alleged that Frank’s mother was in her teens when she found herself pregnant. Frank was born on September 1, 1926, in Ednor Maryland. In his responses to a questionnaire that he completed at sixteen years of age during incarceration in a youth reformatory, Frank documented that his mother was born in Ireland, his father born in Spain, and both were dead (he claimed that his father had died when he was two or three). He went on to reflect that their passing had affected him very deeply. He was raised in foster homes with extremely strict foster parents who delivered harsh discipline, and on occasion he resided with his aunt and her children. His responses to the questionnaire also indicated low self-esteem. In one question asking his opinion of his own appearance, he stated “not so good.”

Frank was convicted of his first crime at only thirteen years of age for burglary. He was arrested by the Sheriff's Office in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and was listed as a runaway from Washington. On November 13, 1940, at age fourteen, the young freckled-faced Morris was again arrested for burglary, and was sentenced to six years and nine months. His sentence was to be served at the National Training School for Boys in Washington D.C., not far from the reformatory where his mother had once allegedly been interned. His teachers considered him highly intelligent but difficult to manage and uninterested in his studies. In one incident during his first few weeks of imprisonment at the boys’ school, he drew a sexually explicit sketch of his female teacher, including sexual comments and signing it “from guess who?”

Morris was prone to violent outbursts, as was illustrated on the morning of July 31, 1941. He had been caught stealing oranges from the kitchen icebox, and was told by the senior officer to put them back. When he refused to obey the order, the officer stated that he would have him benched for three days. But as soon as the officer turned his back, Morris threw a large kitchen knife, which struck him on the blunt side, luckily causing no injury. After receiving harsh discipline for this act, he began planning his escape. Thus began Frank’s career in what would later be listed on his Alcatraz record card as his official occupation, that of an “escape artist.”